Bible Strands

1 John 3:14

We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. The one who does not love remains in death.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The author writes to a community of believers under pressure from the world and from teachers who deny Christ, in a passage (3:13–15) that moves from the world's hatred to the warning that hatred of a brother is murder.

The words — μεταβεβήκαμεν (metabebēkamen), "we have passed over," is a perfect tense of metabainō, indicating a completed crossing with a present, abiding result: the transition is done, not in progress.

The thread — The "death to life" language parallels John 5:24 (eternal life through belief), while the love-as-evidence pattern recurs in John 13:35 and 1 John 5:2.

Why it lands — It makes love toward fellow believers a diagnostic of spiritual state, not a virtue to cultivate: the absence of that love is presented as evidence that one remains in death.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Greek words

ἡμεῖςhēmeisWe ourselvesοἴδαμενoidamenknowὅτιhotithatμεταβεβήκαμενmetabebēkamenwe have passedἐκekfromτοῦtou<the>θανάτουthanatoudeathεἰςeistoτὴνtēn<the>ζωήν,zōēnlife,ὅτιhotibecauseἀγαπῶμενagapōmenwe loveτοὺςtous<the>ἀδελφούς·adelphous[our] brothers;ὁhoThe [one]μὴmēnotἀγαπῶνagapōnlovingτὸνtontheἀδελφόνadelphonbrotherμένειmeneiabidesἐνeninτῷtō<the>θανάτῳ.thanatōdeath.

King James Version

We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.

Cross-references